


A Losing Game

by Morpheus626



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:09:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26048551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morpheus626/pseuds/Morpheus626
Summary: A goofy little thing that came to mind after my mostly tech-free morning last Saturday (I spent a lot of it reading the Sandman graphic novels again, it was nice.)Set during the 1981 Japanese tour for The Game. The lads go missing, and it’s Detectives Phoebe, Crystal, and Ratty on the case (and if they in some way contributed to it happening...well, that’s neither here nor there.)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	A Losing Game

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos to anyone who can catch the line where I referenced an old ass Disney show, bonus points if you remember the show name lol. 
> 
> And the title...titles are hard. That’s all I can say for myself there.

“How precisely do you lose an entire band?” 

“You forget to cherish them,” Crystal said. 

“No, no,” Ratty waved a hand. “You forget to tighten their leashes.” 

Phoebe frowned. “Funny as those ideas are, I do actually need to know where the boys are. So come out with it, where did we ‘lose’ them, and can you please go get them?”

Crystal and Ratty nodded, enthusiastic for a moment, then less so.

“About that,” Crystal said. “I mean, the important thing to know here, is that they’ve been in Japan before, multiple times now-” 

Ratty nodded. “So it stands to reason that they can get their way around the country with ease.” 

“But they’re at the hotel or something,” Phoebe said. “Where they made it back safely after the rest of the night out, yes?” 

“That is a very good theory,” Crystal replied. “I like that one, let’s go with it.” 

Phoebe sighed, and his head dropped to his hands. “I shouldn’t have left early last night. I had a bad feeling, and I was right.” 

“You had a headache, it was better you came back and rested. Look at you now!” Ratty said.

“No, I’ve two headaches now, standing in front of me,” Phoebe said, as he raised his head back up. “You two were the last crew members with them last night. You both know better.” 

“They’re grown men,” Ratty protested.

“They are, but anyone can get in trouble after a few too many drinks, and they were all drunk,” Phoebe said. “That means there wasn’t a one of them sober enough to serve as the voice of reason for any ideas they might have.” 

“You act like we’re going to find them all dead in a ditch,” Crystal whined. “They’re probably back at the hotel, just like you suggested.” 

“Did you see them when you went back there?” Phoebe asked. 

“No, but-” 

“Coats on,” Phoebe interrupted Crystal. “We’re going band hunting.” 

“It will not take all three of us to gather them from the hotel,” Ratty said. 

“Stop worrying about getting in trouble for a moment, because you know you won’t. It takes a hell of a lot to get any of the boys truly mad at us,” Phoebe snapped. “And consider that we are two hours from showtime, and by now, they’d have been here. From the hotel, or whatever restaurant or bar they might be at, wherever. So that means we need to buckle down, find them, and get them to this venue now, in whatever shape they might be in.” 

They paused, then sighed and nodded, nearly in unison.

“Alright, 007. You lead the mission, and we’ll help as needed,” Crystal said. 

“I think Sherlock might be more apt, actually. If only because we don’t technically know where they are, you know? If we knew and had to go rescue them, then it would be 007,” Ratty interjected. 

“You can call me whatever the fuck you want for the duration of this, so long as you help me find them,” Phoebe said. “Where was the last place you both remember being with them?” 

\---

The bar wasn’t open for the day, but at the very least, an employee met them at the door. 

“They left, an hour after you two did,” the man said.”They were in good spirits, talked about walking back to their hotel.” 

“See?” Ratty scoffed. “They’re probably hungover, sleeping at the hotel.” 

“Fine then, to the hotel,” Phoebe said, exasperated. “But I thought you said you all left at the same time?” 

“Night really is rather fuzzy,” Crystal said. “I couldn’t tell you what time I actually fell into bed, frankly.” 

The tension followed them, into the cab that took them from the bar to the hotel, and into the lobby. 

“Phoebe, relax,” Crystal said. “You’re worrying over nothing, I’m sure.” 

“This isn’t the first time we’ve lost one of them, or one of them has fucked off to do whatever he wanted for a bit,” Ratty added. “They always end up trotting home in time for the show though.” 

“I’ll stop worrying when this bad feeling goes away,” Phoebe said, leading the way to the front desk. “Hello, bit of an odd question, have you seen the band, any of them?” 

The receptionist shook her head. “But I didn’t work our night shift. Give me a moment.” 

Her phone call was brief, and she smiled as she set the phone down. “They were in here last night, according to our staff member who was at the desk.” 

“Oh thank god,” Phoebe sighed. “Passed out in their rooms then.” 

“Well,” she continued. “They left shortly after. They did get a gentle warning from my coworker, as they were a bit rowdy-” 

“Oh that’s a nice way of putting it,” Crystal interrupted with a chuckle.

She smiled. “In any case, the last she heard they were talking about meeting up with someone they’d met in the bar. She tried to give them directions to that person’s house, as they requested, but there was some uncertainty about the address.” 

She pulled a note from behind the desk, and handed it to Phoebe. “See? The first address they requested directions to isn’t even Tokyo. It’s in Kyoto. But the second one, below it, is only a short distance away.” 

Phoebe thanked her, and led them back outside, a troubled look on his face. 

“Well then. I’ll go to Kyoto, and you two can go to this other address,” Ratty said. “Why not?” 

“You won’t be back in time for the show,” Phoebe scoffed. “What am I even saying? That can’t have been the right address, they were just confused. No one is going to Kyoto.” 

“Unless they did go there,” Crystal said. “Think we have to go, at that point.” 

Phoebe gave him a despairing look as he hailed a cab, and gave him the Tokyo address. 

\---

“Now, how do we go about this?” Ratty asked. “Hello there, we think you’ve accidentally kidnapped our band?” 

“Kidnapped is the wrong word,” Crystal said. “More like ‘Good day, we think you’ve likely got our hungover and confused band resting in your home, may we have them back?’“ 

“May?” Ratty laughed. “Why ‘may’? They’re our band, we don’t have to politely ask for them back!” 

“How about I talk, that way we don’t have to worry about all that?” Phoebe said as he approached the front door of the home. It was nondescript for the area, and seemed quiet. It was hard to tell if anyone was even home. 

After repeated knocks, it seemed that no one could be home, and they were at a dead end. 

“We’re fucked,” Phoebe sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Maybe they went to the venue, and we’ve just missed them with everything.” 

“I’m sure that’s it,” Ratty said. His smile had dropped, and worry creased his face. “I mean, it has to be.” 

“Right,” Crystal said uneasily. “They’re fine.” 

They stood in silence in front of the house, no one wanting to be the first to break and admit that they would simply have to go back to the venue, and hope for the best. It wasn’t so much that it meant giving up, but that it meant they’d failed in their mission. And even if the boys were perfectly fine (and likely, they were) there was still the awkward question to answer of where they had been, and how hungover they might be playing the show that night. 

“Fuck you!” 

“That’s Roger,” Crystal said happily, looking around for the source of the cry. “That’s his Scrabble yell.” 

“Think that’s just general anger,” Ratty said. 

“No, I know that shout,” Crystal said. “He’s close.” 

“Obviously, or we wouldn’t have heard him,” Phoebe scoffed, then sighed. “Sorry. Just tired of all this, but that’s no excuse, and-Crystal!” 

There was a tiny fence between the house they were at and the neighbors, and Crystal hopped it rather than walking back in the road and on the path to the front door. He pointed to the door as he approached it, and nodded enthusiastically. 

“We can’t go bothering every house on the street,” Phoebe said. 

“Got a better idea?” Ratty challenged, hopping the fence as well to join Crystal. 

After a quick jog around, Phoebe met them at the door. “Go for it then. God almighty, we’re running out of time. No decent rehearsal for them, agh.” 

Crystal knocked on the door, and a tiny elderly Japanese woman opened it. 

“Hello! We’re friends of the men you’ve got over as guests,” Crystal said. “The British boys?” 

She smiled, and nodded them in as if it was everyday she had people searching for internationally famous bands in her home. 

But, there they were.

“Hello,” John chirped first, his hands delicately holding a small tea cup. “How are you lads?” 

“Wondering where in the fuck you’ve been!” Phoebe sighed heavily, fighting and failing to hide the exasperation in his voice. “Have you all got any idea what time it is?” 

Freddie peeked up from the Scrabble board on the small coffee table in front of them, and looked to his watch. The color drained from his face, and he winced. “Do now. Sorry, Phoebe. We’ll go, come on.” 

“You have to go?” the old woman asked sadly, and all four of them immediately rose to comfort her. 

“You’ve been wonderful to us, we can’t thank you enough,” Brian said. “But we lost track of the time.” 

“We’ve got a show, or we would stay,” Roger added. “We certainly owe you that. We can stop by after. You should see her, you three. Can outdrink all of us, and did last night!” 

She giggled at that. “But you tried to keep up.” 

“We did,” John said. “You know, why not have you come to the show? Could watch from backstage, all access pass, all that?” 

“It’s the least we can do,” Freddie said, with a look to Phoebe. “You lot can help us get Haruko there, can’t you?” 

“I...” Phoebe stuttered. “You know what? Sure. I was hoping for answers to my many questions, but I’ll take this instead. As long as you’re all coming with to the venue so we can make the show happen, I don’t care.” 

“That’s the spirit!” Crystal cheered. “Did you have to look after these boys all night, Haruko? What a chore, good on you!” 

“Shut up,” Roger teased. “We weren’t that bad. Drunk, but perfectly polite.” 

Haruko nodded, again as if this was all perfectly normal, an every day occurrence. The average Friday, for her. 

It left Phoebe obviously stunned, but he said nothing as they watched her quickly clean up, and gather her purse before following the band outside. 

He kept quiet until they had gotten cabs enough for everyone, until they were at the venue, until the show was done (well done, if he did say so himself.) 

Until after, back in Haruko’s home, the band and crew members that had wanted to come with littered around her living room. The Scrabble game from earlier had been resumed, with Roger still arguing over it with Brian (who was winning.) 

“Haruko,” Phoebe said as he sat beside her on the floor, to watch the ongoing game. “I know Crystal and Ratty are satisfied with having the boys back. But I have...so many questions. I think they do too, actually, but the fact that we almost didn’t find the band again scared them into not wanting to think about it, and-” 

Her hand rested on his. “It was all fine, truly. They were loud, and rowdy, yes. But they were happy, and had a good time. We talked about lots of things, their music, their families-” 

“Scrabble,” Phoebe interjected, chuckling as Brian tossed a tile at Roger. 

“That too,” she said. “People are honest, in moments like that. They missed home, being somewhere other than a hotel room. They told me they felt bad about it, because they had a break, and this tour is short. But I told them there is no shame in missing home, in wanting to be comfortable and warm. So I told them, you come stay with me. My children are gone, busy working, and even though they visit, this house is...very empty.” 

She smiled at the scene around her, and down at the Queen T-shirt she now wore, given to her before they’d left the venue. “I don’t know all of their music. But that doesn’t matter. They needed a home to rest in, to help them adjust to being out here. And I needed the company. I’m glad I met them, and I’m glad they spent last night here. I know they can’t stay, but if there is time for another visit...” 

“I will see to it we have the time,” Phoebe said. “You just assuaged all my worries about last night, what they might have gotten up to, if they were okay. I’m certainly not leaving them alone with Crystal and Ratty anymore, so no worries. We will be back on time, on schedule, and will have time to see you before we have to go again. We’re only at the one venue, so we’ll be in the area until the 18th, at least.” 

“And,” he continued after a moment. “I think the band would like it a great deal if you would take in another show of theirs.” 

She nodded. “You are also hoping they will not go missing again if I am around to help keep an eye on them?” 

“I didn’t want to say it out loud,” Phoebe sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, they can look after themselves, but touring is a hectic, busy time and while there’s fun to be had, on occasion-” 

A joyful shout went up from the Scrabble game, Roger had taken the lead, apparently. 

“It can get all a little out of hand,” Phoebe continued. “I don’t think any of them ever wanted some menagerie of a retinue following them around, but truly, the more eyes on them some days, the better. And they love you, that much I can tell. Think they’ve found an away-from-home mum. Which means they’ll take care of you as much as you do of them.” 

She laughed. “I will show you later, in my room. They took me shopping, after they found me last night. Not many places were open, but they spoiled me! Do they do this to their mothers too?” 

His mind flashed to the multiple times (particularly with Freddie and Roger) that he’d been sent out last minute to purchase an extra bag or suitcase for souvenirs, or to ship more delicate gifts like art home to their families. 

“That’s putting it mildly,” he finally said. “I’m just glad they’re safe. No one got into any sort of trouble, no...god I don’t know, tattoos done while drunk or anything, you know.” 

She shook her head. “They got too nervous for the tattoos. But maybe before they leave. They can’t show them off here, but they could at home. And my son is a very good artist. I even let him put one on me!” 

The knowledge of the stigma of tattoos in Japan, and the associations they had their buzzed in his head for a moment, until the more pressing part of it finally hit home. 

“They were going to do what?” 

She patted his hand. “Don’t worry, now that I know about all of you on the crew, we can include everyone! It’s so much fun; I used to worry about my son doing it, but I understand why he likes them now. It’ll be a way to remember this tour!” 

“I don’t think I’m going to forget this one for awhile,” Phoebe said, and wondered if there was any beer left in the house, or if the band had run Haruko’s supply dry. He was going to need some, if this tattoo thing was going to really happen. 

But better a tattoo to remember it all by, rather than it being ‘the tour where we lost the band permanently.’ 


End file.
